


A Thousand Miles

by GalaxySupernova (0bviousLeigh)



Series: Just Enough Time [2]
Category: General Hospital (TV 1963)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, canon? idk her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/GalaxySupernova
Summary: It looks like Oscar's time is up...until it isn't. Of course, that brings a whole new set of problems along with it.
Relationships: Oscar Nero/Cameron Webber
Series: Just Enough Time [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949899
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. Time Would Pass Me By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hello there....it's been a while since I visited this AU.

“Time to go.”

Oscar’s pale, his eyes are sunken, and there’s blood on his teeth. Cam fumbles for his phone and realizes he doesn’t know what the emergency number is in Australia. He dives for the hotel phone and calls the front desk.

“My friend had a seizure,” he interrupts the concierge. “I need—he needs to go to the hospital.”

The woman on the other end is all business. “Do you need me to call an ambulance?”

“Yes, please.” Oscar’s got his eyes closed and his breathing is shallow. Cam grabs Oscar’s hand and squeezes. “J-just hang on,” he says to Oscar. To the concierge he begs, “Please tell them to hurry, he’s in pain.”

Someone who’s not an EMT comes to the room first, a hotel manager or something. He helps Cam get ready, tells him to grab both their IDs, cellphones, maybe a change of clothes. Cam has no idea how he manages to function, in the back of his mind he realizes the game is up, the ID he does have is no good anymore.

When the EMTs arrive, they have questions.

“Is this his first seizure?”

Cam struggles to remember how many Oscar has had. “No, it’s his third...or fourth? Third this month.” Has it only been a month since that first seizure? No, it has to have been more.

They load Oscar on to a stretcher, take his pulse and shine lights in his eyes. Oscar flinches away from them and Cam sees him mouthing his name, but the people don’t seem to realize it’s not the name he gave the front desk.

“He’s got a brain tumor,” Cam hears himself saying. The EMTs look shocked, but not like they’ve realized they have a pair of international runaways on their hands. Oscar is wheeled to the elevator and Cam shoves his way in, grabbing for Oscar’s hand. He goes along in the ambulance. A woman gives Oscar an IV, and asks Cam more questions.

“Has he been eating and drinking?”

“I’ve been making him.”

“How long has he had the tumor?”

“I—I don’t know,” Cam says, “His mom found out two years ago.” Oscar’s mom…does he have to call her now? Will the hospital do that?

“Do you know what kind of tumor it is?”

Oscar’s lips move. Cam leans in.

“Neuroblastoma?” Cam says. Oscar nods.

They arrive at the hospital—St. Vincent’s Hospital, Cam will later learn—and the EMT tells the doctor everything Cam has told her. Cam hovers while nurses do everything the EMTs did, check Oscar’s vitals and poke and prod him. Cam’s got his arms full of useless shit like his fake passport and a random pair of underwear. He’s completely lost, his head spinning with things he should probably be doing, but he can’t make himself move because he’s staring at Oscar and taking in just how awful he looks.

Oscar’s dying.

Cam’s vision swims, and next thing he knows he’s in a chair and his shit is all over the floor, and a nurse is kneeling in front of him.

“Are you okay, honey?” She asks.

Cam’s throat is dry. He clears it. “I’m…I’m Cameron Webber,” he says. “My friend’s name is Oscar Nero. There’s people who are looking for us.”

* * *

An hour later, Oscar is in a private room and Cam is slumped over in a chair next to his bed. There’s doctors and nurses constantly coming in and out, and Cam only catches snippets of their conversations. Oscar’s got some pain medication and he’s sleeping. Cam looks down at his phone—it’s nearly 3 AM in Sydney, which means it’s nearly 1 PM in Port Charles. He takes a sip of water—someone handed it to him a while back—and then he dials Josslyn’s number, hoping she picks up the unknown caller.

The phone rings three times, then…

_“Hello?”_

Cam has been keeping it together pretty well, but at the sound of her voice, he starts to cry.

 _“Hello?!”_ She sounds worried. _“Oh my god, is this…Cam, is that you?”_

“Joss…I’m so sorry.”

She inhales sharply. _“Oscar?!”_

“He’s not doing well,” Cam says, his voice breaking. He gets up and leaves the room. “We’re in Australia.”

 _“Oh my god,”_ she’s crying too. _“Cameron Webber, how did you—when—where in Australia?”_

Cam leans against the wall. He coughs, wipes his nose on his sleeve. “Saint Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. I told them who we are, I think they called the police or our parents or something, I don’t know.” He’s trying not to sob. “Josslyn, I’m really sorry. I need help.”

 _“Tell me,”_ she says. _“What can I do?”_

Cam swallows. Of course she wants to help. God, Cam feels like such a piece of shit. “Can…can you ask your dad to come here?”

Cam sleeps for an hour before Jasper Jacks shows up. Cam’s only met him a few times, but he’s sure Jax (as Cam knows he goes by) knows who he is, who _they_ are, and what’s going on.

“Josslyn said you needed help,” Jax says. There’s a doctor behind him.

Cam finds himself spilling his guts. He tells Jax (and the doctor) that they left from New York because Oscar wanted to live before he died, they climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, they went to Saipan, and they ended up here, and Oscar was okay at first but he’s been getting worse. He overshares, about how furious Oscar was at his mother for keeping the tumor from him, how scared he is to die, how Cam doesn’t know what Oscar wants at the end of his life, but he got to have an adventure before it happened. He talks about how he ran away from his own problems, his mother’s millionth relationship and another man he was supposed to call ‘dad,’ a man he didn’t even like, and he tagged along with Oscar and now his friend (boyfriend?) is dying and he doesn’t know what to do but he doesn’t want Kim Nero making any more decisions for Oscar.

Jax (and the doctor) listen, and maybe they know it’s impossible to stop Cam’s spiel or they’re just captivated, because they don’t interrupt once. By the time Cam’s done he’s crying again.

“Well,” Jax says, “I know Oscar’s parents are working on getting here.”

That gets Cam angry. If they think they’re going to march in here and start…Start what? Where do they go from here?

“As for decisions,” the doctor says, “I’m not sure we have a lot of time to wait for them.”

Cam’s heart stops and he must look like he’s about to drop, because Jax puts an arm around him.

“How bad is it?” Oscar’s voice croaks.

Cam jumps and whirls around. Oscar is awake and grinning at him, how much did he overhear? Cam sits on the edge of his bed. “You okay?” He asks. Dumb question, but.

“Peachy,” Oscar says. The bed is slightly raised, he tries to sit up but falls back. He must be feeling terrible.

The doctor moves to Oscar’s other side. “Mr. Nero, I have something to tell you.”

“Let me have it,” Oscar says.

“We have a very new, very cutting-edge machine in one of our hospitals which might,” he pauses for emphasis, “Be able to help us operate on your tumor.”

Oscar’s jaw drops, as does Cam’s.

“Say _WHAT?!_ ” Cam shouts.

“You can get it out?!” Oscar yells at the same time.

The doctor holds up his hands. “I don’t know,” he says. “We can try, but we almost certainly will not be able to get all of it. If we can get some of it, we might be able to extend your life. There are risks,” he says before Cam can even start imagining the possibilities. “Brain damage, for one. If you wake up from the surgery, you could be paralyzed, or suffer memory loss. We may go into surgery and discover we were wrong.”

That sounds like a lot to risk…and he said ‘if.’

“I might not survive the surgery, right?” Oscar asks.

“That risk comes with almost every surgery,” the doctor says. “But yes, this one is especially difficult. I’ve consulted with your doctor back in the US and with the doctor at our partner hospital, we’ve agreed that while the operation has potential to be a success, you need to take the risks about brain damage under consideration.”

“Do my parents know?” Oscar asks.

“You’re the first person we’re telling,” the doctor says.

That one thing makes Cam indescribably happy, because Oscar’s been denied so much when it comes to his own health.

The doctor continues, “As I understand they were trying to get on a flight, so they may be out of reach, and as I said before, time is of the essence.”

Oscar swallows. “Um…why? Is it growing?”

“No,” the doctor says, “It’s…”

“He’s really sick,” Cam says, as it hits him—Oscar _is_ really sick, he’s had a really bad seizure (three in the last month or so, his brain reminds him), he’s pale, not sleeping, and he’s losing weight. “You’re afraid that if he gets worse, surgery will be impossible.”

“Yes,” the doctor admits.

Oscar looks at Cam, then back to the doctor. “Can I have a minute with my boyfriend?”

Cam’s heart stutters, he misses the response but Jax and the doctor leave.

“Boyfriend?” Cam asks.

Oscar grins weakly. “I mean, aren’t we?”

It’s been like, a week since that first kiss, and they’ve done quite a bit of couple-y stuff since then. So…kinda.

Cam grabs Oscar’s hand (very couple-y). “What are you going to do?”

“Do I really have a choice?” Oscar asks.

“You could die,” Cam says.

“I will die if I don’t try this.”

“But not now,” Cam presses. “You’d have time—”

“Not enough,” Oscar interrupts.

“Enough for your parents to get here, maybe for Joss to get here. You could…” say goodbye, is what he wants to say, but he can’t get the words out.

Oscar squeezes his fingers. “I wouldn’t be me,” he says, “I can feel myself slipping. My head is…it hurts all the time, and I feel so sick. That’s not how I want to go. I don’t want to waste away.”

Cam feels tears sting his eyes but he refuses to cry. Oscar’s right, he is slipping. Cam’s tried so hard not to think about it, but it’s been so quick. This is not the same Oscar who climbed hell mountain a few months ago. It feels like it’s been so much longer than that, but it really hasn’t. Oscar faded fast.

“What do you want me to do?” Cam asks.

Oscar reaches up and grabs Cam’s collar, then tugs him down and kisses him. It’s short, but it’s enough for Cam to feel tears slipping free.

“I’m sorry,” Oscar says. “I didn’t want you to have to go through this.”

Cam sits back and wipes his eyes. Oscar’s not crying, he shouldn’t be either.

“What do you want me to do?” Cam repeats.

“Tell Joss everything,” Oscar says. “My notebook is in the hotel room. Let her read it, all of it, even the parts for Scout. Tell her to give it to Scout one day.”

“And your parents?”

That gets Oscar to crumple, tears falling, and Cam instantly regrets it.

“I’m sor—”

Oscar cuts him off. “I didn’t want to die angry,” he says, curling his hands into fists. “But I am! And I still love them but…”

He should have had more time.

Cam grabs Oscar’s hands and pulls him up, and then he just…hugs him. It’s all he can do, hug Oscar and let him cry. Oscar should have had more time. No one should die at 16, and no one should live with a tumor for two years without knowing about it.

“Do you regret going around the world?” Cam asks.

Oscar leans back and grins. “No. I’m glad I got to do as much as I did. And…thank you again, for coming with me. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”

“I won’t let anyone forget you,” Cam vows. “But you’re going to make it out of this surgery.”

Oscar squeezes his hand, and asks Cam to call the doctor back in.

* * *

The sun had just started rising as Oscar was being prepped for surgery. Cam texted Joss to let her know they were at a new hospital, Oscar is going to have a risky operation, and he might not be okay, but he’s going to be okay. Cam didn’t say goodbye to Oscar before the procedure, in fact they didn’t say anything to each other after the doctor and Jax came back in the room.

Now Cam has to wait. The surgery will take hours, no one will tell him how many hours but he guesses a lot. Jax is still here, in the waiting area outside the operating theater with Cam. Why they call it a theater is beyond Cam’s understanding and frankly, it makes him nauseous to think about the word. He wonders if Oscar is under anesthesia yet, if the surgery has already started…

“Cameron?”

Cam jumps. Jax is in front of him with a bottle of water, an apple, and a bag of chips. “You should eat and drink,” he says.

Cam stares at the food and water. He should take them, but he can’t make his hands move. His boyfriend is going to have his head cut open in the next room.

Cam heaves, but there’s nothing in his stomach to throw up. He shoves Jax aside and falls on his hands and knees, he can’t make himself stop gagging even though all that’s coming up is phlegm. They’re cutting Oscar’s head open, he might not survive, this is all happening way too _fucking fast…_

He wakes up in a hospital bed. There’s a burning in his arm and when he looks, there’s an IV sticking out of it. Jax is sitting next to his bed.

“Feeling any better?” He asks.

“Is Oscar still in surgery?” Cam asks. His throat hurts like hell and his mouth is dry.

Jax nods. “It’s only been half an hour.”

Cam doesn’t know if he’s relieved or even more terrified. Jax hands him water in a paper cup, and he drinks it slowly. When the cup is empty, he crumples the cup and throws it across the room. “This shouldn’t have happened,” he snarls. “Damnit, this fucking sucks!” He covers his face, fighting tears.

“Easy,” Jax says. “You’re not in the best shape, you’re really dehydrated.” Cam looks at him incredulously, but Jax continues, “You must have been really focused on Oscar and not taking care of yourself.”

Well…that’s kind of true.

“It wasn’t enough,” Cam mumbles.

“You did what you could,” Jax says.

But did he do enough? Should he have made Oscar come to the hospital sooner? Oscar said he had no regrets, was he lying so Cam wouldn’t feel bad? He probably was, that would be just like him.

“There’s stuff in our hotel room,” Cam says, “Oscar’s stuff, he has a notebook he wants to give his baby sister.”

“I’ll send someone to get,” Jax says, but Cam shakes his head.

“I want to do it.” He looks around, searching for a call button. “I don’t need this IV, I can drink something in the cab. Am I admitted? Can I get out of here?”

“Cam,” Jax says gently, “You really should stay. I know your impulse is to go, keep yourself busy, do anything productive at all, but by staying here you can be present if the doctor comes to give any updates.”

It makes sense, but… “I don’t want anyone else touching Oscar’s stuff,” he says. “It’s private and personal, and…it’s his stuff.”

Jax sighs. “Well, it’s up to you.”

So Cam presses the call button and the nurse, though she’s also against it, disconnects him from the IV. Jax offers his car and driver, which Cam does accept, and as he steps out of the hospital he discovers that the sun is up, the sky is blue, and people are going about their daily lives. It seems completely unfair that it should be a beautiful day when his boyfriend could be dying.

And the ride gives Cam plenty of time to think about that word. And how he’s going to tell Josslyn. God, she’s his best friend, his first crush, he went to war with Spencer over her and now…well, he still likes her, but he’s been making out with her ex-boyfriend. She doesn’t even know he’s not completely straight. Then again, if Oscar dies that’ll probably be the last thing on her mind.

But Oscar is not going to die. He can’t, there’s no way the universe will be that unfair. Cam should stop thinking about that and focus on the task at hand.

Of course, there’s not just Oscar’s notebook to retrieve. Cam seriously doubts the two of them will be continuing to stay at this hotel, so he should probably pack up. He asks Jax’s driver to wait for him in the lobby, he just needs some time alone. Upon entering his and Oscar’s room, Cam stares around and wonders just how much of their stuff he should actually save. Can he leave the hiking boots and canteens, the water filters and club-wear? Oscar would probably feel bad for leaving all that for the hotel staff, that’s why they hauled it to Saipan and Australia in the first place. Cam starts by making sure that he has his and Oscar’s notebooks, then he gathers their money, all their tourist purchases, and then he finishes by stuffing whatever clothes he can find into any space left in their suitcases. It takes just over an hour and he can’t fit it all, sorry Oscar, but he did his best.

He does feel bad for bringing all that stuff back to the hospital, but it’s not like he has anywhere else to store it. Jax’s driver looks shocked as Cam hauls all the bags down to the lobby.

“I would have helped you,” he says.

Yeah, he probably would have. “It’s okay,” Cam insists. “I guess we can go back to the hospital.”

“Mr. Jacks’ residence isn’t far away,” the driver says, “I can take your bags there, it will probably be…well, safer for any valuables.”

That’s probably true, and Cam has the most important stuff in a backpack that he can keep with him.

He starts reading Oscar’s notebook on the drive back. Oscar didn’t exactly say he could, but he skips the letters to Josslyn and Scout and instead reads over the entries he wrote about the hike up the mountain and the days in Saipan. He continues reading it after he gets back to the hospital and settles in to wait.

Cam finds himself transported back to the tent he and Oscar shared. Oscar’s quite the storyteller, he talks about adjusting to the altitude, how quickly the temperature drops at night, how he bonded so quickly with Paul, the porters, and the other hikers. Cam grins as he remembers the food, how it may as well have been cooked by five star chefs for how they savored it. Most of all, Oscar talks about the stars.

_‘I can’t begin to describe how beautiful they are. I’ve never seen them shine so bright, and I’ve never seen so many. In the city the sky always looks so dark, even when you see the stars you can’t imagine just how many more are lurking in the darkness. There’s not a single empty patch in this sky. I can even see the clouds of the Milky Way. If I had a telescope, I bet I could see Saturn’s rings. And even though I know they’re billions of miles away, it feels like I can reach up and scoop the stars out of the sky. Even without the moon it’s bright enough to walk outside without a flashlight. I never want to leave.’_

And he talks about his anger.

_‘I will always love my mom, and I know why she didn’t tell me about the tumor. I think about what I was doing when I was fourteen, and I know I was not ready to hear about it, but how is anyone ready to hear about their death? Yes, I went to high school and followed trends like any normal teenager, but I stand by what I’ve thought for weeks—I should have had a choice in how I spent the last two years. I could have found my dad’s family sooner, before he even knew he was Drew Cain and still thought he was Jason, but at least I would have been there for him when he found out. If my mom had just been honest with me, we could have made so many memories. Instead of playing board games, we could have been going rock climbing, taking road trips to the Grand Canyon, and eating weird street foods abroad! If I had done all that, maybe I wouldn’t have been so afraid of the experimental trial, but if I have to choose between the hospital and going off to see whatever pieces of the world I can…well, obviously I’ve already made my choice. Mom if you read this, or Scout, or Joss if you read this and tell her about it, I love you and I understand. But that doesn’t mean I’m not angry. I don’t know if I forgive you, and I hate that I’m even writing that.’_

He talks about death.

_‘I hope I don’t feel anything. Or I’m asleep. I hope heaven is real. I’ve never thought about it before, I wasn’t even sure I believed in it. Funny how dying will make you hope for it. I’ve never been religious, I don’t even know if I’m baptized. I’ve always thought that if there is a higher power, it doesn’t care if you got a cup of water poured over your head as a baby. I sure hope that’s true. I wonder if I even want to go to heaven. Maybe I can come back, reincarnate into another family. Have to be careful with that wish, it could end up being an awful life. It could also be beautiful, maybe I’d be rich and get to go all the places I want. Maybe I’ll come back as a ghost and hang around to watch my friends and family. That might be creepy, but I’d want see Joss, Cam, and Trina graduate high school and watch Scout grow up. I don’t want them to live their lives missing me. I mean sure I don’t want them to forget me, but I don’t want them to cry too much. I don’t want tears at my funeral, if I have one. If I do comeback, I’ll be checking. Maybe I won’t hang around though, maybe as a ghost I’ll wander the earth and go to rock concerts for free.’_

Cam didn’t think Oscar even liked rock concerts that much. Then again, if he’s not paying for them why not? And in one of the last entries, when Oscar’s handwriting is getting sloppy and the pen pressure is weak, Cam reads his own name.

_‘I don’t know what I would do without Cam. He’s trying to keep me distracted, and most of the time I works. I can’t remember when we started getting along so well, but looking back I kind of liked arguing with him. He didn’t make me feel like I was dying. Maybe we should have talked about it more. I feel really bad that I’m making him do what I didn’t want Joss to do. Maybe I should have made him leave, but then what would I tell him to tell my parents? That I didn’t want them to find me? That I was already dead? I’ve put him in an impossible situation. He says I’m noble, but I’m not noble enough to let go of him. I wonder what will happen if, by some miracle, I live.’_

Then Cam has to stop reading, because his eyes hurt, and his head hurts, and he might be crying a little.

If Oscar lives…Cam’s going to stick around as long as Oscar wants. And if Josslyn wants to date Oscar again, he’ll let the two of them make that decision. He won’t stand in either of their ways. He’ll be completely, totally unselfish.

The operating room door opens and Cam just about jumps out of his skin, then he scrambles to his feet, heart in his throat.

“What’s going on?” He croaks.

It’s not the same doctor from before. “We’ve reached the tumor and we’re working on destroying as much of it as we can. As long as Oscar is responding well, and as long as we have the ability to get at the tumor, we’ll keep working at it.”

Cam sways on his feet. “He’s going to live?”

“He’s not out of the woods,” the doctor says. “And we won’t know if there’s any brain damage until he wakes up.”

But that’s more hope than anyone has been able to give him. Cam staggers back into his chair, head in his hands. Please, please, please…


	2. If I Could Just See You

Cam wakes up because his back is fucking killing him. He opens his eyes—he’s curled up in one of the chairs, there’s a jacket covering him, and the clock says it’s 6 PM. He sits up, groaning as all his joints protest, and looks across the room, where Jax is still sitting.

“Did I miss anything?” Cam asks, then he wrinkles his nose, his breath is foul.

“Still in surgery,” Jax says.

Thank god he’s not one to mince words. Cam goes to the water cooler and drinks several cups, then heads to the bathroom. He thinks he slept for three…four hours? He’s kind of hungry. He’s also kind of hopeful.

When Cam goes back into the waiting room, Jax looks at him…almost nervously.

“What?” Cam asks, his heart skipping beats.

“Oscar’s parents are on their way,” he says. “They just landed.”

Cam wants to know how Jax could know that, but he’s holding his phone, so. Then he wonders how they got here so fast, then he’s furious. He grits his teeth and flops back down in the chair, grabbing Oscar’s notebook and flipping to the page that addressed his mom (he may have earmarked it). He rereads it all and plans a long, poignant speech about how fucked up everything was and why he and Oscar left, with many quotes from Oscar’s own writings. He plans to be calm and rational.

Of course, when they arrive an hour later, all rationality goes flying out of his head.

Kim Nero bursts into the room making demands as to the state of her son, and when she sees Cam she runs to him.

“Cam! We’ve been worried sick, oh my god, where on earth have you been! What happened? Why did you just take off like that?” She reaches for him, but Cam backs away from her. He can feel his hands shaking, and he’s still holding the notebook. Drew enters the room looking just as frantic as Kim, and Jax stands.

“I think we all need to calm down,” Jax says.

Cam is not calm. “Oscar had something to say to you,” Cam spits. He’s so mad he can’t see straight. “He says that he loves you, but he’s furious and he doesn’t forgive you.”

Kim looks like she’s been stabbed. Cam can’t find it in himself to feel sorry.

“We went to Mount Kilimanjaro,” Cam says, “And Oscar saw more stars than he’s ever seen in his life. He hiked that thing with a brain tumor, and it was life changing. He went to Saipan and swam with stingrays and sharks, he went scuba diving and he caught a huge ass fish and he got a tattoo. He had to squeeze years’ worth of life into weeks because you didn’t tell him that he was dying, and he had so much that he wanted to do and see, and he wanted to do it all with you, but he lost all trust in you because you—” Cam’s voice breaks and tears spill. He holds the notebook to his chest. “You took that choice away from him. Oscar didn’t want an ordinary life, he wanted an amazing one. And if he dies in there, then he’s going to regret that he couldn’t figure out if he forgave you or not! It should never have come to that! You should have just been honest! You should have treated him like…like he was worthy of that choice!”

Cam breaks off only because he’s sobbing. He snatches his backpack and walks out of the room, pushing past Kim, Jax, and Drew, and he runs out of the hospital. He runs down the block, around the corner, and down many more blocks. He’s sure people are staring but he doesn’t care. He finally stops in a little park and collapses. It’s quiet, only the occasional jogger spares him a glance.

Oscar may yet die. He may wake up and not be himself. Who knows how much time this operation will buy him. Cam hates that he lives in a world where kids can die before they have a chance to live. He hates that people are so blind and selfish they’ll make life hell for people just because they love people who are the same gender as them. He hates that there’s a whole world Oscar will never see, and he’ll never see all of it either, not even if he lives a full, healthy life, because there’s just too much to see and it’s too much money. He hates that people will live their whole lives without ever knowing that Oscar, the poetic dying kid, wrote in his journal that he felt like he could “reach up and scoop the stars of the sky.”

Then again…maybe they could know about it.

Cam stands up and wipes his face. He pulls out his phone and finds the nearest electronics store. He needs a laptop.

When Cam gets back to the hospital it’s almost 9. He enters the waiting room and three adults look up at him, and Cam quickly averts his gaze. He drops into a chair and starts opening his new laptop. He figures if there were any news they wouldn’t be sitting around in here.

After a moment, someone sits next to him, and glances to see that it’s Jax.

“Surgery is going well,” he says quietly. “Shouldn’t be more than a few hours until he’s out and we find out if he’s still Oscar.”

Cam nods. He wonders how much Jax knows about what he and Oscar did to Joss, and if he did know then would he be so friendly.

“Do his parents know about the two of you?” Jax asks.

Right, Oscar said the ‘b’ word. Cam glances up. Drew and Kim seem to not be looking. He shakes his head.

“Is it something that needs to be hidden?”

For the umpteenth time today Cam finds himself fighting tears and he gets up and walks out of the room. Jax follows him.

“I haven’t said anything,” Jax says as the door shuts behind him, “I don’t really know either of them, if it’s something you’re worried about then I can help—”

“Why?” Cam asks. “Don’t you know what we did? We ran away! Didn’t Josslyn tell you that Oscar broke up with her, she’s furious with him and me! I can’t even believe she called you here, why are you so invested in a couple of teenage runaways?”

Jax holds out his hands. “I don’t know what happened between you and my daughter, but I know that she wouldn’t have asked me to come help you if she didn’t care. And I heard what you said about why you left, and I heard what you said to his parents. I know there are issues there and…as a parent I don’t know what I would have done in Kim and Drew’s position, but I would hope that Josslyn would be able to trust me. So I’m asking you, what do you trust your parents and Oscar’s parents to know?”

Oscar runs his hands through his hair. “I don’t know,” he says honestly. “My parents probably…they’d be confused but not have a problem with it. I don’t know about Oscar’s parents, we never really talked about it.” His voice breaks and he squeezes his eyes shut. There was so much they didn’t talk about, how can Cam possibly know anything?

“Then I won’t say anything,” Jax says. “Listen, I’m an outsider here, I can only form judgements based on what I’ve seen. You did what you felt like you had to do in an impossible situation, I may not approve of international runaway escapades but I don’t have a brain tumor threatening my life.”

Cam leans against the wall and slides down.

“That’s what it comes down to, right?” Jax asks. “You were there, you saw what Oscar wanted and thought about it from his perspective. You think his parents didn’t.”

“They kept it from him,” Cam says through gritted teeth. “They let him go around with…with this thing hanging over him. How do you not tell someone that they’re dying? How do you not let them have a chance to be amazing? Oscar and I saw and did so much and he could have died without any of it. He could still die and there’s so much more he wanted to do.”

Jax kneels down and hands Cam a tissue. “I hope Oscar lives, and I hope he gets to do everything he wants to do. I know it’s what I want for Josslyn, to experience everything the world has to offer.”

Cam blows his nose and coughs a bit. “But I bet you’re glad she didn’t run away with us,” he says.

Jax laughs. “Well…yeah, kind of.”

At least he’s honest.

“Can I ask you to tell me more about why you left?” Jax asks. “You mentioned a new stepdad.”

Cam tells Jax about his mom getting married again, about how Franco was a terrible person and supposedly getting his tumor removed made it all okay, but Cam couldn’t make himself see past it, even though his brothers adored Franco, and he felt guilty for being the only one not on board.

“Part of me thought they’d be better off without me,” Cam says quietly. “I’m the only one holding my brothers back from having a happy family with two parents. God knows I didn’t get that, maybe that’s why I’m so suspicious of Franco. How cliché is that, my dad issues clouding my judgement.”

“I’m sure your brothers love you and want you in their lives,” Jax says. “Have you told your mom about all this?”

“Yeah, and she said that Franco’s a different person now and I need to give him a chance and look at all the good things he’s done,” Cam rolls his eyes. “I don’t even think she really cared about what I said. But I was mad at her before that anyway, did you hear about what she did to Drew?”

“Ah, Carly filled me in,” Jax says.

Speaking of Drew, he pokes his head into the hallway and motions towards them. “Doctor is here.”

Cam moves faster than he thinks he ever has in his whole life. The doctor looks weary, but he’s smiling. “It went better than we could have imagined,” he says. “I would say we got 70% of the tumor removed, we’ll take some scans once Oscar is recovered and confirm that estimate.”

Kim crumples to the floor in tears.

“So what does that mean for his life?” Cam asks, “Like, how long does he have now?”

“I can guess two to five years, depending on how fast the tumor regrows,” the doctor says. “Maybe more if he tries chemo and gets it to shrink further.”

Not a full life, but more time. If he wakes up and is alright.

“Would you like to see him?” The doctor asks.

Cam grabs his new laptop and his backpack and follows the doctor.

Oscar’s been moved back to the same room as before, and Cam leads the way to it. He feels like throwing up when he sees Oscar, his head is covered in bandages, he’s got an oxygen mask over his face, and his skin looks waxy and grey.

“It could take some time for him to wake up,” the doctor says.

Well, maybe now Cam can finally start typing up everything in Oscar’s notebook. He grabs a chair and pulls it next to the bed, sits down and flips to the start of Oscar’s journal. Kim asks to speak to the doctor outside, and for a few minutes the only sound in the room is Cam tapping away on his keyboard.

“Cam?” Drew suddenly whispers, and even though he speaks in a low tone Cam jumps.

“Jesus! What happened?” He gasps—he’s a little on edge.

“Sorry,” Drew says. Cam actually has barely looked at him, and he realizes that the man looks almost as bad as Oscar. “I just wanted to say thank you for being with Oscar and…and getting him here.”

Cam doesn’t know what to say to that. He feels like he doesn’t even know Drew anymore, even though the man used to live in his house and was almost his stepfather. Gee, that would have made the whole ‘boyfriend’ thing awkward.

“You guys went to Kilimanjaro,” Drew continues, “What was it like?”

“Amazing,” Cam says. “It was so beautiful.”

Drew sits on the edge of Oscar’s bed and takes his hand. He looks to be fighting tears. “I should have told him.”

“Why didn’t you?” Cam asks.

Drew closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I didn’t know until after the first seizure. His mom begged me to wait and…I felt like I didn’t have a say. She knew him longer, she’d been his only parent…”

“You know what it’s like to have something kept from you,” Cam says incredulously. “How could you be okay with doing the same thing to your son?”

Drew looks at Cam with tears in his eyes. “If I could take it back, I would.”

Well, that might count for something with Oscar. “Tell him, when he wakes up,” Cam says, and he goes back to typing.

Oscar starts to stir four hours later. Cam’s stopped typing by then, his eyes feel like sandpaper but he can’t sleep.

The first thing Oscar does is groan, and it makes everyone jump. They all stare at him, and slowly he starts to move his fingers. It’s several minutes before he actually opens his eyes, and Cam hardly breathes as he waits.

“Oscar?” Kim asks timidly.

Oscar reaches up and takes off his oxygen mask. He looks at his parents, then he looks at Cam.

Cam gets up and leans over Oscar. Very deliberately, he says, “Tequila.”

Oscar gags. “Dude,” he whines.

Cam loses it. He’s sobbing. He gets on his knees because he can’t stand anymore. Oscar’s alive and he remembers the tequila thing!

He feels a hand on his head. “Quit crying, you’re making me think I’m dead and hallucinating.”

Cam forces himself to calm down. He grabs Oscar’s hand and clings to it. Kim and Drew are sobbing too, and Oscar turns his attention to them. “When did you get here?”

“A few hours ago,” Drew says. “The hospital called the FBI, and the FBI called us.”

“Baby,” Kim whimpers, touching Oscar’s face, “I…I don’t know what to say.”

Cam wonders if he should leave. He starts to stand but Oscar only holds tighter to his hand. “D’you know why I left?” Oscar asks.

Kim glances at Cam, and Oscar notices. He turns his head to look at Cam. “What’d you say?”

Cam thinks back. “Um…you love your parents but you’re angry and not sure you forgive them, you lost trust in them, you should have had a choice to live your life as you saw fit…I exploded.”

“We can talk about this later,” Kim says, but Oscar frowns.

“No, no more later,” he says firmly. “Everything Cam said was true. I left because I knew you would never hear anything I said if it wasn’t about that stupid drug trial. The second it hit me that I was dying I knew I wanted to go see as much of the world as I could. All you cared about was this thing that had such a remote possibility of success, it would have only made me miserable. I read about the side effects, I know I would have been in bed for weeks. I don’t regret a single minute of the time I had with Cam. I would have regretted every second of that treatment. I don’t think you ever cared about what I wanted.” Oscar stares his mother down. “I think you would have forced me to do it.”

Kim’s face turns white, then she looks nauseous. Cam feels his jaw drop.

“You would have, wouldn’t you?” Oscar asks.

“Oscar, honey, I didn’t—I’m so sorry—”

Oscar shuts his eyes. “Please leave.”

Kim doesn’t move for a few seconds, so Cam snaps.

“Can you please give your son what he wants _this time?”_

Drew puts his hand on Kim’s back and urges her from the room. As soon as they’re gone, Oscar is pulling on Cam’s arm.

“Get down here,” he orders.

Cam sits, but Oscar pulls him down even further until they’re squished side by side in the hospital bed.

“I can’t fucking sleep alone,” Oscar says, “I’m too used to your knees in my back.”

Cam smiles weakly. “How are you feeling? Physically, I mean.”

Oscar seems to consider it for a moment. “Well my head still hurts, but I don’t have lights dancing in my peripheral anymore.”

“Who the fuck uses the word ‘peripheral?’”

“I had this weird dream,” Oscar continues, ignoring him, “These two old people…Cam this gonna sound crazy, but I think they were my great-grandparents. Lila and Edward, I see their pictures all over the mansion, I think they came to me. I asked if they were going to take me away and they said no, it wasn’t time. I got really calm, and they said they love me.”

Cam’s jaw drops. “Holy shit that’s so…I don’t even know what that is.”

“Also I’m kind of thirsty.”

“I’m not sure you can have water,” Cam says, glad to move on. “Want me to call a nurse?”

“It can wait,” Oscar says. “So, you blew up on my parents?”

“It was kind of messy,” Cam says. “I screamed, I cried. I was very dramatic, I ran out crying.”

“My hero,” Oscar teases.

“Yeah, and after I ran out and bought a laptop. I’ve been…well I’ve been typing up your journal.”

Oscar looks surprised. “Yeah? Why?”

“Figured it needs a digital backup,” Cam says. “And…you’re a good writer. It might make a decent book, if you’re interested. I was going to see about publishing it if you…didn’t make it. But now that you…”

Oscar smiles. “Yeah, maybe. So, what’s the deal with all that? Now that I’m…alive?”

Cam tells him about the amount of tumor removed and his new life expectancy.

Oscar looks relieved. “Years,” he says with a laugh, “That’s a far cry from six weeks. Hey if the book sells well, we can use it to fund adventures around the world.”

“We?” Cam echoes.

“You already joined me for the start,” Oscar says. “Maybe Joss can come too, next time. Maybe the three of us can…I don’t know what we can do. It’s a lot to think about. But I want you there, if that’s what you want.”

Cam grins. “Yeah…I think I would want to be there.”

Oscar closes his eyes and inches forward until his head’s resting against Cam’s. “Okay, talk more later. Right now we sleep.”

It sounds like a pretty solid plan.

When Cam wakes up, Jax is in the room. He’s changed his clothes, and he’s texting. Cam sits up slowly, and Jax looks up at him.

“Hey there,” Jax says. “Doctor came in an hour ago and woke Oscar up to do some tests and explain things to him. He says Oscar seems to be doing well.”

Cam glances down at Oscar—he seems to be waking up too. “What time is it?” Cam asks.

“Almost noon,” Jax says. “As I understand it, your mom and Franco just landed in Sydney. I was going to wake you up and tell you.”

Cam feels like he swallowed ice. Why, oh why did Franco have to come along? He’s so not ready for this.

“Hey, Cam?” Oscar says hoarsely, “Don’t you have to go shower?”

“Huh?” Cam asks, then he remembers his excuse after Oscar kissed him. He laughs. “Hey yeah, I think I do.”

Jax grins. “If you’d like to, you can go to my apartment.”

“Yeah, and bring me a toothbrush, will ya?” Oscar asks.

“Don’t need to tell me twice, you reek,” Cam says.

Stepping out of the hospital and into the sun is a painful experience, Cam wishes he had thought to bring sunglasses or a hat or something. It’s hot and humid, and in Jax’s car Cam becomes painfully aware of just how long it’s been since he really paid attention to his personal hygiene.

Upon arrival at the apartment complex, the driver unlocks the door to the suite on the top floor and tells Cam that he’s welcome to use the bathroom that behind the second door down the right side hallway. His and Oscar’s suitcases sit just inside Jax’s apartment—though that’s hardly to word Cam would use to describe the place. Not for the first time, Cam is reminded of just how much money Josslyn comes from. He digs some clean clothes from his bag and finds said bathroom, and good god there are no words to describe how heavenly the shower is. He thinks he spends an hour under the water, though of course he’s also killing as much time as he can before facing his mom and Franco.

He wonders if they’ll go to the hospital and find Oscar alone. He wonders if Jax will make up an excuse for him or give up his location (though it seems unlikely). He wonders if Oscar will go off on them the way he went off on Kim and Drew. He wonders how long he can hide out in Jax’s apartment.

Eventually Cam shuts off the water and gets dressed. He heads to the kitchen, raids the fridge, drinks some water…and kills more time. He remembers that he has a phone that he can access the internet with, and upon finding his phone (at the bottom of his backpack) he discovers that it’s out of battery. He locates his charger (thank god it’s attached to the universal outlet adapter), and plugs it in. After a moment it starts to buzz with text messages, nearly all from Josslyn’s number.

_‘I assume you’re busy but my dad is keeping me updated on Oscar. He says the doctor doing this surgery is the best so I have high hopes.’_

_‘Your safe discovery made the news.’_

_‘The cameras caught your mom and Franco heading to the airport.’_

_‘You went off on Kim and Drew?! And took off?! Cam wth!!! Are you okay??’_

_‘When you get these message call me ffs.’_

_‘Heard Oscar’s out of surgery, thank god.’_

_‘I heard he woke up and is doing okay.’_

_‘Your phone is dead I tried to call you and it went straight to voicemail.’_

_‘Well I’m on my way to Australia, I practically had to tie Trina down to keep her from coming too but her attendance can’t take the hit.’_

Cam gasps and almost drops his phone. Josslyn is coming?! When was that message sent? How is she coming? Private jet? Commercial? How soon until she arrives? He starts grabbing his shit and heads for the front door. And of course, of course, of course, Josslyn is standing at the door with a bag and a key in her hand.

Josslyn screams, dropping everything, and covers her mouth. Then she quickly uncovers it again. “Oh my god Cam! You scared the crap out of me!”

“I—I’m…” he stammers.

Josslyn smiles and holds out her arms. Cam steps forward and she hugs him.

“I’m so happy to see you,” she says.

Cam hugs her tight. “I missed you,” he says. He feels like he could start crying at any minute. For several minutes they just stand in the doorway and hug. Cam does end up crying. He’s done a lot of that lately.

“I’m so sorry,” he chokes out, and then starts choking on Josslyn’s hair.

“Ew, gross,” she laughs, leaning back and brushing her hair behind her shoulders. She’s crying too. “You look like crap.”

“Hey, I just showered.”

“Oh, is that why you’re here?”

Cam nods. “And I’m…hiding. From my mom and Franco.”

“Yeah…they were on my flight,” Josslyn says. “I was in first class, they weren’t. I didn’t even know.” She gestures to the door. “Let’s go inside.”

Cam nods and steps back. Josslyn brings her things inside and kicks off her shoes. “I didn’t want to go to the hospital right away for that very reason, I didn’t expect you here.”

“Your dad let me in,” Cam says, shit he feels so awkward. “He’s been amazing.”

“I knew he would be.”

Cam can’t take it anymore. “Joss I…I don’t know what to say besides I’m sorry.” For so much more than she realizes.

Josslyn holds out her hand, and Cam takes it, confused. She smiles, still teary-eyed. “Cameron Webber, I was furious with you for so long. Both of you. After I got your letter I was furious and sad, and then I just got so tired of being mad. I know why you left and I know why neither of you said anything to me. I would have gone with you in a heartbeat, but…things got really crazy with my family, and I’m glad I was around for it. I know you’re sorry. I forgive you.”

Cam shakes his head. He lets go of Josslyn’s hand. “You don’t know all of it. Oscar and I are…I…we both…”

Josslyn frowns, then looks confused. “You and Oscar are…?”

“Kissing,” Cam finally blurts.

Josslyn blinks. “Oh. Congrats?”

Cam’s jaw drops. “Wh-what?”

Josslyn reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. “I thought…I mean you didn’t say it in the letter but I kind of assumed there was something between the two of you.”

“Wait, what?!” Cam yelps.

“I don’t know, you just said ‘we’ and ‘the two of us’ a lot. And I remembered how weirdly Alpha you were around him, I guess I thought maybe you were flirting in a weird guy-way?”

“Wait, no, this is recent,” Cam says. He’s so lost. “I didn’t even know I was…I liked guys until like…after we left.”

“Oh,” Josslyn says, “Oh…I just assumed…well you’re kind of dense.”

“I am?”

She hands him the letter. “Reread that.”

Cam does and…wow, okay, that does read like two people in love who ran away together. “It wasn’t like that! I swear! We didn’t, and never while you and him were dating!”

“Yeah I got that,” Josslyn says. “Calm down.”

Cam runs a hand through his hair. “If you want to try again with him, I’ll back off, I swear I will. I want you to be happy, both of you. I never wanted to hurt you and neither did he.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Josslyn says. “Listen to me, I promise I’m not mad anymore. And if you like each other I’m happy for you!”

“But he’s your boyfriend,” Cam says. He’s so confused.

“Well he was, we broke up. And like I said, I thought you guys were dating. I thought it had happened on the mountain. I thought it was kind of…natural? I mean, I knew you guys would be friends if you stopped being so weird with each other,” Her cheeks are a little pink. “It hurt at first, but part of that was because I felt like I was being left behind. But…well, a lot happened at home while you guys were gone. My mom is pregnant, there was a serial killer on the loose, Kiki is dead, Sonny brought home a kid from Turkey and kind of adopted him, and it made me realize that things could be a lot worse…”

“Whoa, what?” Cam sputters.

Josslyn looks sheepish. “Right, too much too fast. Maybe I should tell this story with Oscar present, too.”

* * *

Oscar almost has a heart attack when Cam walks into his room with Josslyn, and then he really almost loses it when Josslyn bursts into tears.

“Joss,” he starts, but she cuts him off.

“Can I hug you?” She sobs.

Oscar nods, and she collapses on his bed and hugs him so tightly he can hardly breathe. It’s both amazing and makes him feel like shit, and he starts crying, too.

“I’m so sorry,” Oscar chokes out.

“Don’t be,” Josslyn says. “I’m just…I’m really glad to see you.” She leans back, brushing tears away. “Really, don’t be sorry, I’ll explain everything later but first, I wanna hear about you. Are you okay? How’s your head?”

Oscar glances quickly at Cam—no black eyes or other visible bruises, Josslyn must not have punched his lights out…maybe she really isn’t mad. “I’m doing okay,” he says. “My head’s little sore and I’m kinda tired but the doctor says that’s all normal after brain surgery, better than he could have hoped for, really.”

Josslyn nods. “Good, good,” she says, pushing her hair back. “Oh god, I have so much to tell you guys, and I have to get it all out before either of you start stammering apologies, and don’t even think of it Oscar because Cam already tried. This is all stuff you guys need to know, so buckle up.”

And Josslyn proceeds to tell them a tale of murder and intrigue. Apparently Kevin Collins’ psychotic twin brother, Ryan Chamberlain, went on a killing spree in Port Charles, posing as the Doctor himself. He dated Ava, killed Kiki Jerome (among others), and nearly killed Lulu, trying to frame several people in the process, including Carly.

“And…he tried to frame Franco,” Josslyn says.

Cam’s jaw drops. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, that was his undoing, actually. I don’t know everything but I heard that he tried to say that you taking off could have caused something in Franco to snap, but Franco was being watched by the FBI because they were all over your case, so the police were like ‘Something’s fishy here,’ and Laura figured out that Kevin was Ryan, or had a break and thought _he_ was Ryan, that’s happened before apparently.”

“That whole town is freaking weird,” Oscar says.

“No kidding,” Josslyn says. “You guys really got out at a good time. So anyway, my mom is pregnant and Sonny adopted a teenager from Turkey. Or at least, is trying to adopt him.”

“Ooookay,” Cam says. “So, what’s up with that?”

“Sonny went to Turkey to get Dante and Dev—that’s his name, no last name—helped him out, so Sonny got him a visa and tried to find him a place to stay, but it wasn’t working, and…he’s a nice guy, so I said he should just stay with us.”

Oscar can’t help but be surprised. Cam seems rather taken aback too.

“He helped pull me out of my own head,” Josslyn says. “He’s a lot of fun, actually. A bit of trouble, too. Sometimes he says things that make me think he had a really rough life. He eats really fast, too, like he’s…” she trails off, then gives herself a shake. “Anyway, I realized life could be a lot worse and stopped feeling sorry for myself and started thinking objectively. I got your letter around that time and everything kind of fell into place. I absolutely would have wanted to go with you guys on your trip around the world, and if I had…I would have missed my mom, and not known about the baby. And Trina would have been pissed, and it would be hard for four people to go under the radar. I’m still a little mad but I guess most of it is because this shouldn’t have happened.” She looks a little ashamed. “Kim kept wanting to talk to me, ask me if I knew where you would have gone. I really didn’t want to talk to her after she had kept the cancer from you for so long and I was really rude to her.”

“I blew up on her,” Cam says.

“I kicked her out,” Oscar says. “Maybe I’m being too hard on her, it sounds like she’s gotten the brunt of the anger.”

“At least now you have a chance to be angry and forgive her,” Cam says. “You’ve got time.”

Josslyn covers her face. “Time,” she repeats. She lowers her hands and tears fall on her cheeks. “My god, my dad said the doctor thinks two to five years? It feels so short but…when I think about how you didn’t even know if you’d get six months…” She grabs Oscars hands and squeezes them. “I still love you. I always will, I think, but we’re teenagers and this is a lot. If we can be friends, if we can just hang out and go ice skating and swimming and text each other, that’s enough for me.” She turns to Cam. “And that goes for you, too. I want us all to keep being friends. Okay?”

“I would really like that,” Cam says.

Oscar nods. “Okay, group hug time!”

Josslyn hugs them both tight enough that it hurts a little, and it’s all Cam could have ever asked for.


	3. Home Bound

To say that it’s tense in the hospital room is an understatement. It’s been five days since the operation and Oscar is quickly regaining his health, so they have to decide what to do about their living situation once they get back to Port Charles. They started having this discussion yesterday, but it broke down when Drew asked how the boys would get home without their passports and IDs, and Cam said he had no idea what Drew was talking about and produced both his and Oscar’s real documentation (thank you, Jordan’s older brother), and, well…maybe that wasn’t the smartest idea. Cam and Oscar insisted they had used their real identities the whole time, their parents knew they were lying and not happy about it, and they all stopped talking before they could start shouting.

Now for this second attempt Jax has joined them; Oscar and Cam asked him to be there, both worried that the conversation could go off topic. Cam already had an awkward meeting with his mom and Franco, but it went better than it could have gone thanks to Josslyn. She pulled Cam aside and said that while she didn’t like him, Franco had been really good to his mom and his brothers while he was gone. When Elizabeth went on TV Franco stood by her, and Josslyn had seen him taking Jake and Aiden out and distracting them from everything. And Cam is grateful, but that doesn’t mean he wants to go live with the guy. And Oscar…he absolutely doesn’t want to go live with his mom, and not really his dad either.

Further complicating things, Cam and Oscar are reluctant to live separately at the moment. They’ve been glued together for months, even now Cam has been sleeping in the hospital because, like Oscar, he can’t get used to sleeping alone (sappy sappy SAPPY). They still haven’t actually told their parents that they’re kind of (definitely) a thing, though Cam thinks they suspect it. He and Oscar haven’t even talked about coming clean to them. Maybe their parents would be less open to the two of them staying under the same roof. Maybe it would make things weird. Cam doesn’t want to find out. He’s been trying to not be seen sitting or lying down in the bed next to Oscar when their parents are around—the chair he sits in at those times is ridiculously uncomfortable, which is saying something since he’s normally squished between Oscar’s limbs and the plastic barriers of the bed.

“So, what are you all thinking?” Jax asks.

“Maybe we can stay with grandma Laura?” Cam suggests.

His mom frowns. “She and Kevin are…well, a little shaken up to say the least. I’m sure she’ll say she won’t mind but…”

“Monica will want Oscar to stay with her,” Drew says. “I can move out if you’re uncomfortable.”

But Oscar doesn’t want to go back there, not after he stole from them and tricked Michael. No one has said anything about them being mad at him but…well, he feels awful.

“You shouldn’t have to,” Oscar says. “And mom already said it’s too many people in and out of the house.” He’s decided to go through with chemotherapy, and that means his immune system will be weak. The fewer people he’s exposed to, the better.

“My offer to stay with me still stands,” Jax says. “I can find a place in Port Charles very easily.” (Josslyn is thrilled—her father is going back to Port Charles to stay long-term.)

“You’ve already done more than you had to,” Oscar says.

“Cam can stay with me,” Kim says, “Maybe Oscar can stay with Liz and—”

“No,” Cam and Oscar say together. Unsaid: They go together.

“Aiden and Jake don’t need to see me go through chemo,” Oscar reasons. “I don’t _want_ them to see that.”

“We have to think of something soon,” Kim says quietly.

Oscar looks around the room, then does a double take at Drew. “Jason,” he gasps.

Cam feels like he’s been smacked upside the head. “Jason!” It’s so obvious!

“Jason Morgan?” Jax asks, sounding incredulous.

“He’s my uncle!” Oscar says.

“And he’s Jake’s dad,” Cam says, “I bet he wouldn’t mind us staying with him.”

Kim sputters. “Boys, that’s an awful lot to ask of Jason. I don’t even know if he has room for two teenage boys…”

“I’m not sure it’s safe,” Jax mutters.

Drew looks like he swallowed a lemon, but to Cam’s surprise, he nods. “We can ask Jason if he wouldn’t mind.”

Kim stares at Drew. “What? You think this is the best solution?”

Drew nods. “So far, it’s the best one I’ve heard.”

“I think it’s worth asking,” Franco says. “Jason knows the boys, they know him, and most importantly they’re the ones suggesting it—this is what they want.”

Elizabeth and Kim both flinch. Cam almost feels bad about how happy that makes him.

“I’ll give him a call right now,” Drew says.

The other adults end up leaving along with him, and Cam abandons the chair for the bed, he kicks his shoes off and teasingly puts his feet on the pillow and lays sideways across Oscar’s knees.

“Ah, much better,” he sighs.

Oscar digs his finger into the arch of Cam’s foot and Cam jerks, damn near knocking over the IV stand.

“Dude!” Cam yelps.

“Dude,” Oscar says, rolling his eyes.

Josslyn knocks at the door—they know it’s her by the pattern of knocking she uses, and Cam sits up as she slips in.

“How did it go?” She asks, coming to sit on the foot of the bed.

“Drew’s gonna call Jason,” Cam tells her.

Josslyn looks just as shocked as Cam felt. “Jason! Oh my god, why didn’t we think of him earlier?”

When they had been talking about this among the three of them, Josslyn briefly floated the idea of them living in her house, but with this Dev kid there AND Carly expecting a baby, neither of them wanted to intrude.

“I hope he says yes,” Oscar says, rubbing his forehead. “I do not want to have to think about this anymore.”

Neither does Cam, honestly. He’s got too much to worry about, like how Oscar’s going to do with chemo, what he’s going to do about school when he gets back to Port Charles, and what he’s going to say to his brothers. Franco and his mom have been pressing for them to figure out a living situation soon, as they really have to get back to Port Charles—they have jobs and kids waiting for them. They asked Cam if he wanted to come back with them but he shot them down real quick. The longer he can avoid explaining himself to his brothers, the better.

“Trina says the town is buzzing,” Josslyn says quietly. “I was texting her while I was outside. People are…well, they’re happy you guys are okay.”

“And?” Cam prompts, reading the worry on her face.

“Some people are saying that you should have been treated more like runaways than lost kids.”

Cam scoffs, he can deal with that, they’ll change their minds when they read the tell-all book he and Oscar are going to publish.

“What are they saying at school?” Oscar asks.

Josslyn bites her lip. “Mmm…”

“Is it homophobic?” Cam asks.

Josslyn doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t have to. Cam knows, he heard it all when it was directed at Aiden. He couldn’t do anything about the rumors then, and Aiden was too young to understand that there are those who didn’t like when they couldn’t categorize people in little boxes. It’s why Cam is thinking about not going back to school at all and taking online classes instead.

“Whatever,” he says, hoping he sounds like he really doesn’t care, “I should do online lessons anyway, schools are filthy, who knows what I’ll bring home to Oscar?” Then he wrinkles his nose. “Ugh, that sounded far too domestic.”

Oscar laughs. “You? Domestic? Perish the thought.”

Josslyn closes her eyes. “Better word choice, please.” She’s joking—mostly.

“Right, sorry,” Oscar says, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. “So let’s change the subject. How’s the book looking so far?”

“You’re a really good writer, Oscar,” Josslyn says, brightening. “I think it might be good to do alternating chapters—like one chapter is your journals, and then the next is one or both of you talking more about what was happening at that point in time.”

Cam’s finished typing up all of Oscar’s journal and is now working on his own, and organizing it so his and Oscar’s entries match up.

“The chapters don’t have to be long,” Josslyn continues, “Chapters are mostly just to keep events organized, it’s okay if they’re only a few pages.”

“Sounds good to me,” Cam says. “I mean, we don’t even know if anyone will publish this thing and if we self-publish, who will buy it? Why cater to what we think will be more mainstream?”

“Don’t sell yourselves short,” Josslyn says, “It’s a powerful thing to read. I mean…are you sure you guys want to put this out there for anyone to read? Oscar, you thought you were dying and Cam…you didn’t know what you were in for.”

“Well I started writing it because I didn’t know if Oscar would be okay,” Cam says. “I guess…I mean it’s not like I’ll be a movie star, sure my picture is out there from the news reports but come on, how likely is it that I’ll be stopped on the street for this? I don’t think it’s a big deal, it’ll be like having a blog. No one has to read it, they’ll only read it if they want to.”

“I want it to be a cautionary tale,” Oscar says. “I want parents everywhere to read about how this affected me and what it was like to be kept in the dark. Besides…if the chemo works and shrinks the tumor even more, I’m not sticking around Port Charles. There’s so many more places I want to go, I don’t know if the Quartermaines will trust me with their money any more, but I’ll figure out a way to pay for it. Maybe the book will take off and that’ll be enough. I don’t need much to backpack through Europe, I can stay in youth hostels.”

“Not without me you don’t,” Cam says, shoving Oscar lightly. “After sleeping on Kilimanjaro I bet a walk through Europe would be a piece of cake.”

“Um, can I come along one summer?” Josslyn asks. “I wanna hike across the alps!”

“You are welcome whenever,” Oscar says to Josslyn. To Cam he says, “You may need to get your own tent, I don’t know how I ever thought I could share anything with you, my kidneys may never recover from your knees.”

“Excuse you?!” Cam squawks, “My knees?? Your elbows are the bane of my existence!” He yanks up his sleeve. “Look at this bruise! You gave me that three days ago and it’s still purple!”

“I bet you banged your arm into a doorframe and you’re falsely accusing me.”

“And I say again, you snore.”

“I do NOT!”

“You snore like an old man asleep in a recliner.”

“You take that back!”

Josslyn’s laughter makes them stop and realize that they’re carrying on…again.

“Sorry,” they say at the same time.

Josslyn shakes her head. “It’s okay. You guys are really cute together, you know.”

Oscar blushes and Cam feels his own cheeks heat up. That’s something Cam can honestly say he never thought he’d hear used to describe himself and Oscar.

There’s a knock at the door and Cam scrambles from the bed back to the chair. Once he’s settled, he calls for whoever’s out there to come in.

It’s Drew, and he’s got his phone out. “Jason wants to talk to you guys.”

Josslyn looks at Cam and Oscar. “Should I leave?” She mouths.

Oscar holds his hand out for the phone and waves for Josslyn to stay. Drew leaves and Oscar puts the phone on speaker.

“Jason? Cam and I are here.”

 _“Hey, guys,”_ Jason says. _“I just had a pretty one-sided conversation with your parents.”_

Cam’s stomach sinks. “Oh?”

_“Yeah, basically them telling me first not to feel bad if I said no to you staying with me, then a whole lot of information about what it means to go through chemo, as if I didn’t watch my sister go through it.”_

It takes a moment to understand what he means by that, and then Cam gasps, “Wait, you’re okay with us coming to stay with you?”

 _“Yeah, it’s fine with me,”_ Jason says.

“Oh my god,” Cam says, slumping over from relief.

“Thanks so much Jason,” Oscar says, “Really, that’s—thank you!”

 _“Well I wanted to ask,”_ Jason says, _“Is this really what you want? You’d have to either share a room or one of you take the couch and I only have one shower, but there are two toilets at least…”_

“It’s fine,” Cam assures, “We can share, and all our other options got shot down so we were running out of acceptable options—acceptable to our parents, I mean.”

_“Yeah, I was shocked when Drew reached out. We’ll talk more when you get here but just don’t be posting where you are on social media, okay? I don’t know what apps you guys use but don’t advertise that you’re staying with me. Sound fair?”_

“More than fair,” Cam says.

“Yeah, don’t worry about that.”

_“Okay, then I’ll see you when you get back to Port Charles. Let me know when Oscar gets discharged, I’ll pick you up at the airport. Drew said something about Jax and his private jet, I think he means to fly you guys back to Port Charles when you get the all clear.”_

“Oh boy,” Oscar says. “You think?”

Jason chuckles. _“Yeah, I do. Oh and one more thing, hang up the phone before you give it back to Drew, spare me the awkward goodbye I would have had to say.”_

“You got it,” Cam says. He and Oscar say goodbye and thank Jason again, then hang up.

Josslyn lets out a restrained cheer. “Problem solved! I knew Jason would say yes!” She holds out her hand. “Here, let me have the phone, I’ll give it back to Drew.”

Oscar hands the phone to Josslyn. “Tell them they can come back in if they want.”

As she leaves the room, Cam leans in to Oscar’s side quickly and whispers, “What are we going to tell Jason about…us?”

Oscar shrugs. “We’ll figure it out when we get there?”

Cam nods. It works for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna do a part 3...which based on my track record with GH fanfics should take me about...a year to write. 
> 
> See you in 2021!


End file.
